No Audio - Acer Aspire Revo r3610 HDMI

[ptzink]

Okay, I am having a big problem here. I had my Acer r3610 setup and running fine as a client at my old house using just the headphone jack to listen to the audio. Recently, we moved to a new house and I hooked the r3610 to a Samsung LCD using HDMI. The audio while on the desktop works fine - I can hear all system sounds and can play movies in other software (i.e. Media Player) and it sounds fine. I have HDMI set as the default playback device in the Windows settings. However, when I open the SageClient and play a recording I get no audio. I also get no audio when trying to play music. I have tried virtually every combination of audio renders (should be default or nvidia HDMI) and decoders (have tried default, sagetv, ac3, and mpeg decoders). Nothing seems to work. Any suggestions on something I could be overlooking here? Any Aspire Revo users that have had a similar issue? Thanks in advance for the help.

[ptzink]

As a follow up, does the mpeg2 video decoder have an effect on the audio (and/or vice versa)? That may be a dumb question, but I am having video issues now as well. The will play fine for a few seconds and then freeze on a frame. At this point I have changed the decoder settings so many times, I don't remember my original configuration. When in doubt, I go with the defaults. I am not sure why switching from the VGA and headphone output to the HDMI output of the Aspire Revo has caused such problems. Lastly, does anyone have any recommendations for good decoders. I would prefer not to pay, but would consider it if worth it. Thanks.

[Taddeusz]

What OS are you running? You probably need to change your default audio device to HDMI and if there is an option for bitstreaming Dolby Digital (AC3) over HDMI enable it.

[ptzink]

Taddeusz, thanks for the reply. I am running Windows 7 x64 (I finally got around to adding info to my signature this morning). I have changed my default audio device to HDMI in Windows and it works with system sounds and other Windows applications. I have tried setting the audio renderer in Sage to default, nVidia HDMI audio out, and DirectSound nVidia HDMI audio out and none of them have worked. Is there something I am missing here? I will check into the bitstreaming over HDMI option that you mentioned tonight. Also, I haven't tried disabling the SPDIF out. I will try that tonight and report back. I just don't understand why the audio is working in every other app but SageTV (the one I need it to work in!). Thanks.

[ptzink]

Okay, I hesitate to even admit this. My problem had nothing to do with my renderer or decoder. A simple CTRL+SHIFT+M took care of my problem. That's right, I had it muted! 3 hours down the drain for that. Guess I should check the obvious first next time. Sorry for the false alarm.

[NetworkGuy]

I am curious of what you think of a Acer Aspire Revo r3610 HDMI as a HTPC. I am thinking of buying one and I would appreciate your observations.

Thanks,
John

[ptzink]

John,
So far, so good, but I would say the jury is still out. Now that I resolved my audio 'problem' (which was not a problem at all) the only thing I have to iron out is some slight stutters and video tweaks. I do NOT think the stuttering is due to the Revo's hardware. I think it is either a decoder issue or the fact I am trying to run over wireless n (vs. wired). All in all, I would say it is great for an HTPC. Not a power house, but definitely does the trick for media playback. Those are my thoughts. Let me know if you have any other specific questions.

[NetworkGuy]

Thanks. I also have a Samsung 46" TV and I was wondering about the video resolution and quality. Are you able to do 1080i with no streaking or smearing?

Thanks,
John

[Taddeusz]

Yea, that's happened to me before. Hours spent trying to figure out why the audio wasn't working only to figure out the volume was turned all the way down.

One thing I can recommend now that it's working is to use AC3Filter as your audio decoder. Go in to the AC3Filter settings (ac3config.exe in your SageTV directory unless you've installed it separately), go to the SPDIF tab, and make sure AC3 is checked for SPDIF passthrough. If you're using a surround receiver or if your TV can decode DTS you can also go ahead and check to passthrough DTS.

[ptzink]

Okay, so I guess this thread isn't dead yet. I am getting audio now (thanks to un-muting), but I just recently noticed it appears to be only 2 channel. When I turn on HDMI passthrough (in the AC3filter settings) audio goes away. After some brief research, it appears that the Aspire Revo r3610 is not capable of 5.1 channel sound over HDMI. Can anyone confirm that this is true? I am having trouble believing that a supposed HTPC computer doesn't do multichannel sound via HDMI, but that must be the case. I guess I will have to hook it up to the receiver via the optical out to get multichannel sound, but would love it if I were wrong about the HDMI. Any suggestions?

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by ptzink

Okay, so I guess this thread isn't dead yet. I am getting audio now (thanks to un-muting), but I just recently noticed it appears to be only 2 channel. When I turn on HDMI passthrough (in the AC3filter settings) audio goes away. After some brief research, it appears that the Aspire Revo r3610 is not capable of 5.1 channel sound over HDMI. Can anyone confirm that this is true? I am having trouble believing that a supposed HTPC computer doesn't do multichannel sound via HDMI, but that must be the case. I guess I will have to hook it up to the receiver via the optical out to get multichannel sound, but would love it if I were wrong about the HDMI. Any suggestions?

Apparently it can work, I'm not sure the settings you need in order for it to work properly in SageTV. If I remember correctly though, you need to use wave out instead of direct sound for it to work properly. It's been forever since I've had my nice Logitech set hooked up to my computer so I don't quite remember how it's to be done.

[ptzink]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

Apparently it can work, I'm not sure the settings you need in order for it to work properly in SageTV. If I remember correctly though, you need to use wave out instead of direct sound for it to work properly. It's been forever since I've had my nice Logitech set hooked up to my computer so I don't quite remember how it's to be done.

Taddeusz, thanks for the response. These posts made me skeptical of multichannel over HDMI on the r3610:

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/90544.aspx
http://www.netbookreviews.com/forum/....html#post7310

I am not certain if these posts are accurate though and wanted to verify. It really seams like it should be possible. A little more info on my physical setup. It goes: Acer r3610--(HDMI)-->Samsung LN46C630--(SPDIF Optical Out)-->Onkyo tx-ds797 (my Onkyo is old and doesn't have HDMI - hence the TV being the 'middle man'). I checked to make sure the Samsung is using passthrough and only the PCM option is available in the menu (Dolby Digital is grayed out I am assuming because it is not available from the Acer).

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by ptzink

Taddeusz, thanks for the response. These posts made me skeptical of multichannel over HDMI on the r3610:

http://thegreenbutton.com/forums/t/90544.aspx
http://www.netbookreviews.com/forum/....html#post7310

I am not certain if these posts are accurate though and wanted to verify. It really seams like it should be possible. A little more info on my physical setup. It goes: Acer r3610--(HDMI)-->Samsung LN46C630--(SPDIF Optical Out)-->Onkyo tx-ds797 (my Onkyo is old and doesn't have HDMI - hence the TV being the 'middle man'). I checked to make sure the Samsung is using passthrough and only the PCM option is available in the menu (Dolby Digital is grayed out I am assuming because it is not available from the Acer).

It's probably your TV then. Unless that option is only available if it detects a Dolby Digital signal, which I highly doubt. You may try removing power from your TV for about 30 seconds (i.e. unplugging from the wall). There may be a glitch that is preventing that option from being available. Last ditch effort. Not sure if Samsung provides them, I know Insignia doesn't, but you may check and see if there is a firmware update for your TV.

I was actually running the same setup for a while on my home theater. Still am for the majority of my devices (cable box and xbox 360). I had to switch my HD200 to using HDMI for video and SPDIF for audio due to the fact that the TV would only pass PCM or Dolby Digital audio. If there was DTS audio it would get ignored and I'd end up with nothing. If your TV ignores DTS as mine does you may want to switch to using HDMI/SPDIF anyway.

[hedly]

There is a huge lack of information from most vendors on what the HDMI ports are actually capable of. HDMI is up to 1.4 for 3D video. 1.3a ports would push true hd digital sound; 1.2 and 1.1 would only push 5.1.

Early video cards with HDMI out only sent video; audio had to be done by separate boards. Then ATI put an audio board on their cards but it was limited to 2 channel...then 5.1. The new 5xxx series and latest Nvidia cards (I think) finally push true digital sound.

Most motherboards with HDMI out are still lagging with the same issues and I think the Acers only push 5.1 if you are lucky.

in addition, older A/V hard ware that are not HDMI repeaters will not push sound at all only video. hardware with HDMI pass through will sometimes strip out the sound.

It could be a myriad of things in your audio path that are causing the issue. I realize that this does not answer your question, but it may shed some light on where the problem begins.

Cheers.

[NetworkGuy]

Originally Posted by ptzink

Okay, so I guess this thread isn't dead yet. I am getting audio now (thanks to un-muting), but I just recently noticed it appears to be only 2 channel. When I turn on HDMI passthrough (in the AC3filter settings) audio goes away. After some brief research, it appears that the Aspire Revo r3610 is not capable of 5.1 channel sound over HDMI. Can anyone confirm that this is true? I am having trouble believing that a supposed HTPC computer doesn't do multichannel sound via HDMI, but that must be the case. I guess I will have to hook it up to the receiver via the optical out to get multichannel sound, but would love it if I were wrong about the HDMI. Any suggestions?

I just received my Acer R3610 yesterday and hooked it up. I also have a Samsung TV with an Onkyo receiver. I am using HDMI to the Receiver and then HDMI to the TV. I can confirm that I have 5.1 Stereo Sound.

John